ABA & GLP | Innovation Field Notes
RefleXions Music Series is a social arts project with two aims. First, to promote the performance of repertoire by diverse musicians. Second, to support both musicians and audiences by providing access to development opportunities in the form of concerts, master classes, community gatherings and panel discussions. The initiative was born out of the global pandemic and social unrest in the United States at a time when the Arkansas-based organization RefleXions was forced to reimagine its activities away from in-person gatherings.
RefleXions Music Series hosted its first virtual residencies in 2020 and 2021 featuring non-profit and musical groups Sing for Hope and Imani Winds, By partnering with NPR affiliate KUAF 91.3, RefleXions also reached new communities through creation of a podcast featuring conversations with guest artists about rebalancing the classical music world through excellence and advocacy. Virtual panels sponsored by Arkansas Global Changemakers have also enabled RefleXions to virtually connect citizen artists with regional leaders, advocates, educators, and students in conversations around themes of social justice and change. In this way, RefleXions’ flexible approach, together with new partnerships, is ensuring its continued sustainability and relevance through key shifts in the external landscape.
As an acknowledgment of these achievements, RefleXions Music Series was recently the recipient of the University of Arkansas Chancellor’s Grant for the Humanities and Performing Arts. In January 2021, RefleXions was also awarded a Women’s Giving Circle grant to support new research and programs. Most recently, this past October, RefleXions Music Series was one of five awardees of an Artists 360 Community Activators grant which has enabled RefleXiones to plan a four-day in-person gathering in its community hub of Fayetteville, Arkansas. This upcoming 2022 event is centered around the theme of citizen artists and showcases a range of works and voices that use music as a tool for creative justice. The diverse line-up ranges from a concert recontextualizing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons to masterclasses in improvisation, composition, songwriting, and arts entrepreneurship.
Authored by Lia Uribe (GLP 2022 | Colombia & United States)
Colombian-American artist Lia Uribe is associate chair and associate professor of music at the University of Arkansas. She maintains an active career as a chamber musician, orchestral player and artist-teacher. An advocate for diversity in the arts, her research is centered on music by and for historically excluded and underrepresented groups. She runs RefleXions Music Series — a celebration of music and musicians that fosters creative justice and diversity through reflection, performance, and growth opportunities.
